A large cooperative of consumer dairy products needed a logistics provider in the U.S. but wanted more than just a company to move freight. The company, which sells more than $1 billion of both dried and temperature-controlled product to U.S. food companies annually, needed a partner to provide them with the expertise, tools and data to reduce costs. A one-size-fits-all approach wouldn't cut it - the cooperative needed a customized solution based on its unique industry, marketplace and cost structure to help wring waste from its logistics network.

The dairy cooperative selected Jacobson Companies as its 3PL partner in April 2009, and in August Jacobson took over all of the company's inbound and outbound transportation needs in the U.S.-shipping, tracking orders, receiving the carrier's invoice, handling audit and settlement, and then providing detailed reporting back to the customer. With detailed logistics data and new decision tools, the cooperative could gain the knowledge about its business processes that would drive efficiency, improve customer service, and facilitate future growth.

With Jacobson's experienced team of professionals managing all of the dairy cooperative's transportation activity, the company could focus on building its core business while taking its distribution network to the next level-without needing to make a significant investment in people or technology.

The next step was for Jacobson to conduct a distribution modeling study for the company to identify the most efficient network. This would determine the best way to combine loads, locate warehouses and shift ports-of-entry to maximize their distribution dollar. Jacobson created a baseline of the current distribution network from point of origin to the end customer, which revealed that the dairy cooperative had the potential to capture significant savings while improving service. Jacobson then modeled a more efficient, optimized distribution network based on warehouse locations, business requirements and optimal transportation utilization. Some of Jacobson's plans included moving shipments to different ports in order to benefit from volume pricing, as well as improving processes and eliminating steps to shave days off the product movement timeline.

The dairy cooperative's newly optimized logistics plan is still early in its implementation phase, but already the company is reporting savings percentages in the double digits, exceeding projections.

Jacobson brought this company the decision tools they needed to become more efficient and knowledgeable, all the while building a long-term partnership. 

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